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Kathmandu Friday March 08, 2002 Falgun 24, 2058.
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Industrialist released
Kidnapping still a mystery
Bikas Thapa
BIRATNAGAR, March 7 : Confusions surrounding the
whereabouts of Tulsiram Agrawal, a local industrialist, came to a dramatic end late
Thursday after an exhausted Agrawal arrived in his hometown via Birgunj, another
industrial town near the Nepal-India border in central region.
A frail and pale Agrawal showed up in the town
at about 7 p.m. Thursday evening. He was accompanied by the chief of the Eastern Regional
Police Office, DIG (Deputy Superintendent of Police), Rajendra Bahadur Singh.
He was kidnapped by an armed group of Indians
from this bordering town 41 days ago and whisked towards India via nearby Islampur border
point on a vehicle bearing Indian registration number plate. He was last seen loitering
around Biratnagar early in the morning on January 26.
Soon after he reached his house premises, an
overwhelmed Agrawal burst into tears and hugged his family members one by one, who were
celebrating his homecoming with happy tears. He refused to speak with reporters.
As the crowd of journalists, industrialists and
locals from Biratnagar and nearby Indian towns looked at him curiously, Agrawal quietly
entered his house.
DIG Singh also refused to make specific comments
on how the industrialist got released. When quizzed by journalists, he only said, "I
am not yet supposed to make any comments."
He was talking to journalists at his office
earlier on the day, but suddenly left his room after receiving some information.
Agrawal’s brother Jagadish said the family
members came to know about his release at about 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The police
informed the family about the release over telephone after Agrawal showed up in the
industrial town of Birgunj.
The dramatic release came two days after a few
lawmakers of the main opposition CPN-UML thundered in the House of Representatives
demanding Agrawal’s release and blamed a former Nepali Congress member, Umesh Giri,
for his kidnapping. They went on to accuse Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka of providing
shelter to Giri.
Home Minister Khadka could not be reached for
comments in the capital late Thursday night, neither was Home Secretary Sri Kant Regmi
available over the telephone.
On Monday, the Nepal Police informed about its
request to the INTERPOL (International Police) to help arrest Giri, who it suspected was
behind the disappearance of Agrawal. The police also claimed to have found evidences of
Giri’s involvement.
"My brother has returned home, and I thank
the high officials of Nepal and India," a relieved Agrawal’s brother Jagadish
said at his house premises. "Either DIG sahab knows or the government; I don’t
know anything about his release."
He also revealed that DIG Singh had assured him
to get Agrawal released, and added, "Subsequently, our family had moved to
Birgunj" to receive him.
Businessmen and industrialists of the town
expressed happiness and thanked all the concerned authorities for getting him back. Sushil
Dhanawat, an industrialist, lauded efforts put by the security forces.
Said another businessman, Shankhar Lal Agrawal,
"We don’t want the repeat of such an incident in future. And we would like to
thank all those, who helped our friend return home safe and sound."
The two business leaders had put intense
pressure on the government to get Agrawal released and had even fixed a deadline for his
release, warning to launch a series of agitation programmes.
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